Q. I keep reading about how bad 6-5 payoffs on blackjacks are for players, but when I asked a dealer about it, he said, "How often do you get blackjack, anyway?" Can you put into dollars and cents just how bad it is?

A. Among the common rules variations in blackjack, a 6-5 payoff on two-card 21s is by far the worst. Paying only 6-5 instead of 3-2 on blackjacks costs 1.39 percent – an amount larger than the entire house edge against a basic strategy player at most blackjack tables. Take a run-of-the-mill six-deck game where the dealer stands on all 17s, the player is allowed to double down after splitting pairs, and may resplit pairs up to three times for a total of four hands. The house edge is only 0.41 percent.

That one rule, paying 6-5 on blackjacks, is more than triple the house edge than the entire set of rules on a common six-deck game. So yes, it really is THAT bad.

That leaves 20 blackjacks on which you’re paid. Let’s say you’re betting $10 a hand. If you're only getting $12 payoffs instead of $15, that means the rule cost you $60. That's six bets worth in your 441 hands.

The sharp-eyed number crunchers among you might note the $60 shortfall in 441 hands is only a 1.36 percent increase in house edge instead of 1.39. That’s just the effect of rounding the number of blackjacks per hour.

Q. My dad insists on seeking out automatic shufflers. If we’re in a casino with both hand-shuffled games and shuffling machines, he plays with the machines. Dad insists the shufflers are better for the players. Is he right?

Continuous shufflers are tough on everyone. Card counters can’t apply their skills if the cards are just shuffled back into play. For non-counters, the speed of play becomes a factor. If there’s never a pause for a shuffle, or even to cut the cards in a machine-shuffled deck, it means more hands per hour, and more chances for the house edge to work against you. For counters and non-counters alike, it’s in their best interests to walk on by continuous shufflers and look for a different game.

With other automatic shufflers, there’s a separation of player interests. Commonly, such shufflers hold two packs, often of six or eight decks each. While one pack is in play, the other is being shuffled. When it’s time to reshuffle one pack, it’s put back in the machine, the other is taken out, cards are cut and play resumes.

Q. I was playing in Antigua, and the dealer did not take a hole card. Does that make a difference?

A. The method of dealing has no overall impact on the dealer's final hand. He's getting different cards, so sometimes it'll be better than it would have been had he taken a hole card at the start, and sometimes it'll be worse. But his average hand will be the same.

Still, it's a negative rule for players if the house takes both bets in double down and pair splitting situations if the dealer completes a blackjack.

Let's say you have a two-card 11, and the dealer has 10-value card face up. In most games, the dealer checks to see if he has an Ace face down. If he does, the dealer’s blackjack stops the hand. If not, basic strategy calls for you to double down on your 11, leaving you with two bets on the table.

If the dealer has no hole card, he can't check for blackjack, so there's nothing to stop you from making that second bet. After players have completed their hands, if the dealer then draws an Ace to complete a blackjack, you lose two bets instead of one.

That requires a little self-defense. In a multiple-deck, no-hole-card game where the house takes both double down and split bets on a dealer blackjack, don't double down with an 11 against a dealer's 10-value. Don't split 8s if the dealer has a 10-value or an Ace up, and don't split Aces if the dealer has an Ace up. In all those cases, just hit the hands instead of risking a second bet.